Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Members of the committee, my name is André Charlebois, humanitarian project manager at Oxfam-Québec.
Throughout its 50-year existence, Oxfam had dedicated itself to fighting inequality and ending poverty. Oxfam-Québec and Oxfam Canada are members of the Oxfam International confederation, comprising 21 affiliate members. Oxfam-Québec and Oxfam Canada are also members of the Humanitarian Coalition, which Mr. Morgan spoke about earlier.
I'm here today to speak more specifically to Oxfam's presence in Syria.
Oxfam has been present in Syria since 2013. For 10 years, it's been working to supply safe drinking water through infrastructure upgrades and to increase vulnerable populations' means of sustenance. In order to work in Syria, we've had to negotiate framework agreements with local partners, government departments and the public water utility company. We have three offices: The first is in Aleppo, in the north, the second in Deir ez-Zor, in the east, and the third in Damascus, in the south.
Since the quake, Oxfam has been hard at work dealing with the humanitarian emergency and addressing immediate needs. When the quake hit, Syria was already fragile. The earthquake only exacerbated a humanitarian crisis that was already gripping the country. The people were already reeling from the aftermath of 12 years of conflict. The communities are destroyed, the economy's weakened and the infrastructure is crumbling. There is a serious lack of basic services, which is now being compounded by the destruction wrought by the quake, a cholera epidemic and, of course, a harsh winter. More than ever, the Syrian people are in need of long-term, lasting support.
Before the quake, close to 15 million people were already in need of support. Moreover, 85% of households were unable to meet their basic needs. Seven million people had been displaced internally, and two million were living in camps.
Humanitarian response often occurs in the short term. In other words, the goal is to save lives in the days and months following a disaster, and yet the impact on communities and families continues to be felt over the long term, in the range of several months to several years, even. Immediate aid is not enough; we need to rebuild these communities. We need lasting, long-term support. We need to go beyond the initial response to a humanitarian crisis and support reconstruction efforts. Long-term aid means forging ties with local partners, supporting communities and strengthening civil society organizations.
Two-thirds of Syrians are currently living outside of active conflict zones. Their needs are changing, and the aid as well as the funding need to adapt. Oxfam believes that the best way to lift people out of poverty is to upgrade public infrastructures. Before the war, Syria had large-scale infrastructure and public services. We need to build on that to help the Syrians.
There are still barriers to lasting support, however: the lack of flexible, long-term funding as well as the global sanctions that undermine humanitarian response and ultimately hurt the people. Everyday Syrians are hardest hit by these sanctions, as they lack fuel and electricity. Sanctions prevent operations from going smoothly and being efficient and long-lasting.
Let's move on to our requests. In order to give the Syrian people a chance to make it, governments need to focus on lasting solutions. Canada needs to show leadership. It has a duty to invest not only in emergency assistance, but also in infrastructure rebuilding efforts. It needs to provide flexible, multi-year funding. The aid should be completely apolitical. Our humanitarian response is guided by our principles: impartiality, neutrality and independence. Canadian aid should adhere to the same principles.
I'll happily expand on that during the rounds of questions.
Thank you.